2010 Ink & Iron Show from Long Beach California Only a couple of hours remain at the 2010 Ink & Iron show, a show that proved as grand as the Queen Mary itself. Bands can still be heard cranking out tunes as the last rays of sunlight glisten off from metal flake and chrome. We launched Ink-N-Iron with this: First Look: 2010 Ink-N-Iron Festival The beautiful sound of tattoo guns still at work resonant through the belly of the Queen Mary with countless gallons of ink spilt. Yes, to put it mildly the show was amazing. Ivy D’Muerta hosted this years pin-up competition with the curvaceous Gia Genevieve taking home the title of Ms. Ink & Iron 2010 amongst a bevy of gorgeous ladies. Show goers were able to shop until wallets were drained at some of the most unique vendors the scene has to offer. (We grabbed a pic of Gia Genvieve at Viva Las Vegas too) Once again the hot rod & bike show grounds were packed to capacity with creations from some of the worlds top builders. With this years show going beyond expectations one cannot...

All Photos by Mitzi and co (Thanks Mitzi! Resume festivities!!) Pinup Monica Renee with Voodoo Larry’s killer 46 Ford 2010 Ink & Iron Show from Long Beach California Being from Wisconsin when I get a chance to hit the West Coast for a show, it had better be a good one. Lately the show buzz has been all about the Ink & Iron show held at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA so I figured I’d give it a shot. Ink & Iron is a 3 day event and we are just partially through the 1st day and I’ve seen more amazing tattoo artists, hot betties, amazing rods, bad ass bikes, and vendors than most shows pack into an entire weekend. While at the show I was given the opportunity to assist the always amazing Mitzi Valenzuela when she photographed the drop dead gorgeous Monica Renee with Voodoo Larry’s killer 46 Ford… I know it’s a rough gig! After the shoot we hit the packed vendors, the outrageous 3 story tattoo convention, and the Hall of Customs…all the while tapping our toes to the great line up of...

Thanks to member NumbNutz (top 10 member names for sure!) who took photos from a show I've always wanted to attend. Formally the known as the Paso show in Paso Robles, but always the West Coast Kustoms Cruisin Nationals run by Rich Pichette since 1982. Now about 60 miles south of Paso, the West Coast Kustoms Crusin Nationals brings a worldwide audience for the rides and great California weather.  For more info about next year's show, make sure to check out the West Coast Kustoms home page. I hope to see you there! See the rest of the pictures in our Car Show Picture Gallery. Want to share some of your car show pictures? Please get in touch. You're already loading them to flickr, might as well help us out too! email...

Who doesn’t love dune buggies? You could have gotten a good healthy dose of buggy envy at the Carlisle Import and Kit Car Nationals which was held last weekend in Carlisle, PA. Dig that metallic green finish!  Wow!  There were two seaters, four seaters, white ones, blue ones, green ones, and just about every color imaginable. If you strolled over to Building T you could have chatted with Bruce Meyers, the designer of the first fiberglass dune buggy known as the Meyers Manx. Bruce Meyers was present all weekend to sign autographs and pose for pictures if you asked nicely enough. The good news is that you can once again buy new Meyers buggies like the Manxter 2+2, which is capable of doing 0-60 times of just over 4 seconds. Want something with a little more displacement? How about a Cobra replica? The Cobras dominated the kit manufacturer area and there were plenty of them on the show field as well. Throw a 4.6L motor in a Factory Five Racing 1965 Cobra replica like Anthony and Robin DiMemmo did and I bet you would have a smile plastered on...

Carlisle Performance & Style 2010 showcased many highly detailed modern rides like Joey Talarico’s 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse. But, Mother Nature tried real hard to stop 14th annual Carlisle Performance & Style Show in Carlisle, PA. Despite the ferocious 40 mph wind gusts and the threat of morning rain on Saturday, over a thousand tricked-out cars, trucks, and SUVs turned out to participate in the festivities. The show organizers were trying real hard to overcome the bad image the show gained back in the rowdy early 2000s when it wasn't uncommon for the local police departments to make a couple hundred arrests during the course of the weekend. Their efforts to be more family friendly could be seen by such simple items  as “Parental Discretion Advised” signs posted on some of the buildings that contained content not suitable for the youngsters and passing out carnations to mothers on Mother's Day Sunday. For the most part, attendees were more laid back and respectful of others. The show was also changed to encourage more domestic muscle cars. There was a decent showing of Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers on the Carlisle Fairgrounds. There was even...

Pictures and words by: Doug Nykanen Gumball Rally Toronto-Niagara Falls May 6-7 2010 The Gumball Rally started as a movie from 1976. It had a hodgepodge of characters racing across America in a variety of exotic cars. Fast forward to 1999 when Maximillion Cooper founded the Gumball3000. A Rally that ran 3000 miles across a variety of countries on a different route each year. Yea, across countries! Here's the type of cars you'll find: A couple of days ago I heard the Gumball was passing through Toronto. The 2010 Rally started in London England, then on to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Boston, Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto with the final destination at Times Square in New York City. Never one to miss an automotive event I headed down to a very congested event in downtown Toronto. By the time I got there it was getting dark, so the pictures were not great especially without a high powered flash and someone to clear people out of the way, there were thousands of people. The event was pretty low key, most drivers were already partying it up but some, like the Sheiks, had just...

Story and Photos by Nick Koljian Today was the 9th Annual Car & Bike show held at Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo,CA. I've never been so I thought today would be a nice day to check it out. The sun was shining, a nice breeze blowing and my oldest, Mia, was really jazzed about her first show of the year with pops. So at about 9:00am the crew rolled out in route for San Lorenzo. Upon arrival at the High School I noticed that it was being held on the football field which I thought was pretty cool. Slapped down our 5 bucks (which goes to the Arroyo High Boosters Club) and we were in. As a  local show I wasn't expecting anything huge and I was right. But with that said, it was a comfortable show, maybe 100, 120 rides. There was more hot rods than channeled rusters, there was more paint than primer and there was more post 68' than pre 52'. But hey, not everyone has the same tastes in rides and that's what makes the love for cars so great. Beauty is in the...

Bonneville Salt Flats: Speed Week 2010 Preview: ...ok, ok, for those counting (who, me?) its actually 100 Days, 19 Hours, 34 Minutes and...wait for it, wait for it...53 seconds! For everything about Bonneville and Speed Week, check this out: Bonneville Salt Flats – Speed Week, Records and Pictures Or, see for yourself at the LandRacing.com homepage, where they have a countdown clock for Speed Week.  It's going year 'round for those with Salt Fever. Here's a little taste of the Salt from Speed Week 2009.  Dig this flamed 5 window coupe hot rod and yes, oh yes, a Studebaker Avanti.  That's a teaser for a feature coming up on another certain Avanti you guys will love. Speed Week is THE coolest car show around! One of the great "unofficial" events at Speed Week is the first 2 nights (the night before races start is night #1), there is a big gathering of all those racers, crew and hot rodders who've made the trip out.  It goes down at the Nugget Casino (across the street from Montego Bay Casino as you can see in the pic above) in Wendover (about 5 miles...

We featured Kathy's 1961 Comet back in March.  Kathy and the Comet were invited to the 2010 Fresno Autorama.  You know, the Blackie Gejeian Car Show.  It's only his 51st show.  Only!?  The Fresno Autorama is considered to be THE finest indoor car show in the States.  Kathy hooked us up with Jerry Burt and his photos on JBurtPhotos.com. First, let's see a couple pictures of Kathy and her Comet, along with Blackie Gejeian.  Check out Kathy's BIG smile.  Friends and hot rods makes for some Good Times! Wow, what a cool experience to have your hot rod invited to the Fresno Autorama by Blackie Gejeian.  Congrats Kathy and the Full Tilt crew. That deep purple paint on the Full Tilt built Comet is a sight to see!  Just gaze into the purple hue under the lights at the Fresno Autorama.  Heaven!  ha ha In this photo by J Burt, the tan leather custom interior is poppin' real nice.  The suicide doors help bring attention to the interior too.  But, its hard not to notice the low down air ride and injected powerplant. Now, on to some of my favorite...

Truth be told, I haven't been to an indycar race since I was a kid. At age 9 I was convinced I would be an indycar driver when I grew up. That profession was won over by being a doctor, then being a designer... and on and on the years passed. But when I got an offer for some tickets to the Grand Prix of Long Beach this weekend from Optima Batteries, I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather do on this beautiful Sunday. Ever since I by chance ended up driving these streets while they were blockading them off for the race, I'd wanted to check this event out. It's not some boring circle track - this 1.98 mile track has hairpin and ninety-degree turns and is on the actual streets of Long Beach! This has been a whole 3-day event, but the culmination of it was with today's IZOD Indycar Series race. All 170,000 spectators saw the 25 drivers speed away from the finish line (of these 25 drivers, I'm glad to say 3 were women!) I'd forgotten that there's nothing quite like all those cars...

I think its time for some more aircooler LOVE!!!  Remember our German Facebook friend, Pascal Hein?  We blogged about his cherry Lemon (lemon is what he named the car) classic 1973 BMW 1802 Touring.  Pascal took these pictures at a big VW Bug and Bus Meeting in Germany, home of the "People's Car" brand.   Most of the bugs you'll see came from Great Britain, Belgium or from Netherlands. I thought I'd grab my favorites from Pascal's photo website  http://www.vipallica.deviantart.com/. This is my favorite picture.  I'm really likin' this blue Cal-Look big window bug.  It's got the big single turbo muffler, nerf bars, narrowed front beam with all the chrome trim.  Bugs with a nice raked stance are one of my favorite cars of all time. One of the coolest vdubs is the early buses or Kombi's.  When slammed, they are saweet kruzers!  This rust-a-rific bus is rockin' some white painted Porsche Fuch wheels on low pro tires.  I think this is a barndoor model.  Also, check out how you can see right through this car with the barndoor open.  ha ha Gold Member anyone?  Polished Fuch Porsche wheels are always...

Anyone who's ever been to Viva Las Vegas - or even in Las Vegas when it's happening - can back me up on this...VLV is FULL of characters! Sure there's cars. Sure there's music. Sure there's drinking. But you'd be missing out on what Viva Las Vegas is about if you missed out on the people! Words can't seem to begin to explain this varied assortment of characters. So this year I snapped a few less shots of cars and a few more shots of people. 'Nuff said, I'll let the pictures do the...